Shravan Shetty , Career Coach Interviews Daksha Ballal . Daksha Ballal is an Operations professional with 7+ years of success in crafting engagement programs in the areas of employee engagement, campus engagement and customer/community engagement. Working with clients in sectors like IT, BFSI, Manufacturing, Media, Pharma, FMCG & Government etc to build and execute high growth and high engagement programs through effective use of content and technology across India, Middle East and North America. His portfolio of clients include companies like IBM, Dell, Microsoft, ACC, Times Group, CNN-IBN, Reliance, Bajaj, Mahindra, Tata Motors, Johnson & Johnson, Ministry of Environment & Forests, CII etc. He typically interacts with CHRO's, L&D Managers, University Relation Specialists, Talent Acquisition Heads, CMO's, Brand Managers, Corporate Communication Officers, Channel Partner Heads across sectors. He has helped his company win multiple awards like "Futurism in Talent Management" by People Matters, "Bizlabs" by Aditya Birla Goup, "GENNEXT Hub" by Reliance etc.

1. Daksha Ballal
Consultant -(Quizworks)
Shravan Shetty ( Career Coach)
The Career Interview 16

2. Lets Explore Careers
Daksha Ballal is an Operations professional with 7+ years of success in crafting
engagement programs in the areas of employee engagement, campus engagement
and customer/community engagement. Working with clients in sectors like IT,
BFSI, Manufacturing, Media, Pharma, FMCG & Government etc to build and execute
high growth and high engagement programs through effective use of content and
technology across India, Middle East and North America.
His portfolio of clients include companies like IBM, Dell, Microsoft, ACC, Times
Group, CNN-IBN, Reliance, Bajaj, Mahindra, Tata Motors, Johnson & Johnson,
Ministry of Environment & Forests, CII etc.
He typically interacts with CHRO's, L&D Managers, University Relation Specialists,
Talent Acquisition Heads, CMO's, Brand Managers, Corporate Communication
Officers, Channel Partner Heads across sectors.
He has helped his company win multiple awards like "Futurism in Talent
Management" by People Matters, "Bizlabs" by Aditya Birla Goup, "GENNEXT Hub"
by Reliance etc.
Specialties - Employee Engagement, Campus Engagement, Customer Engagement,
Content Design, Gamification, Strategy and Implementation, Vendor Management.
He can be reached at daksha.ballal@gmail.com

3. Your current designation
Consultant

4. What are your main responsibilities towards your job?
1. Building engagement programs 2. Establishing
Processes for better Project Management

5. What is a typical day (or week) like for you?
A typical day involves spending 1 hour on LinkedIn
connecting with the network. 2-3 hours is spent on
actual operational work and remaining 2-3 hours
is spent on managing a team.

6. What do you like most about your work?
Connecting with people and churning content of your
own

7. What do you like least about your work?
Can't think of a definitive answer to that yet

8. What kinds of problems do you deal with?
What kinds of problems do you deal with?
People management. Prodding people to deliver on
time.

9. What kinds of decisions do you make?
Budgetary Decisions. Branding Decisions.
Partner Management Decisions.

10. How does your position fit within the
organization/career field/industry?
As an engagement professional, coupled with PM
expertise, my position is considered as a "must-have"
role in any organization. With MNC's handling many
multiple projects, a PM is necessary. At start ups, an
individual who knows how to engage his/her community
and has built a process is sought after.

11. How does your job affect your general lifestyle?
I do not consider my job as a job. It comes out of passion
so I have a decent work life balance.

12. What current issues and trends in the field should I
know about/be aware of?
Engagement is getting digitalized so new forms of
engagement models are key. "Getting the right story
at the right time to the right people" is key.

13. What are some common career paths in this field?
Community Engagement Manager, Project Manager,
Event Operations

14. What kinds of accomplishments tend to be valued
and rewarded in this field?
Reduced "Go-to-Market" time, Engagement Rates, Rapid
Deployment of Projects

15. How did you become interested in this field?
I worked at a start up called QuizWorks where I had to
specialized in many roles before I found my true calling
as an "Engagement Professional". I began my career
here.
Engaging an audience segment with the right content
and emotion and through proper channels turned out to
be an interesting domain for me.

16. How do most people get into this field? What are
common entry-level jobs?
Engagement Manager - Associates, Project Managers.
Anyone with a degree in Marketing or Operations can
evaluate the above profiles

17. What steps would you recommend I take to prepare to enter
this field?
Connect with like minded professionals and companies.

18. What kind of education, training, or background does
your job require?
A degree in Marketing or Operations

19. What skills, abilities, and personal attributes are essential
to success in your job/this field?
Strong written, interpersonal and presentation skills • Ability to effectively
interface with multiple audiences, internal teams and stakeholders • Ability
to execute a complex plan in a matrixed environment • Exceptional project
management and organization skills • Works independently with minimal
supervision and an ability to make decisions in a fast-paced environment •
Strong time management and multi-tasking abilities

20. What is the profile of the person most recently hired
at my level?
Answered as above

21. What are the most effective strategies for seeking a
position in this field?
Referrals and LinkedIn

22. Can you recommend trade journals, magazines or
professional associations which would be helpful for
my professional development?
Marketing Text books by Philip Kotler,
MarketingProfs.com,

23. If you could do it all over again, would you choose
the same path for yourself? If not, what would you
change?
Yes

24. What advice would you give someone who is
considering this type of job (or field)?
I would advise them to research the company they want
to be join and spend time on upskilling

25. What would be the salary at the entry level in this
career line?
Depends on the industry. Salary range from 5 Lac PA -
18 Lac PA

26. https://www.linkedin.com/in/daksha-ballal-6654685b?

27. Thank You